The Black American Short Story in the 20th Century

by Peter Bruck

  he had stated himself:

  The objec t o f my writings would be not s o much the elevation of the

  colored people as the elevation of the whites — for I consider the unjust

  spirit of caste ... a barrier to the moral progress of the American people.

  The attemp t t o creat e a moral revolutio n i n th e whit e man's con-

  5

  sciousness faile d almos t b y necessity ; as Chesnutt' s fictio n becam e

  more an d mor e bitter , a s hi s racia l identit y wa s disclose d t o th e

  general publi c i n a revie w b y Howell s i n 1900, 26 h e bega n losin g

  his audienc e and , a s a consequence , hi s economicall y secur e posi -

  tion a s a writer . Hi s activ e concer n wit h racia l problem s an d th e

  sense o f injustic e tha t h e trie d t o conve y t o hi s whit e readershi p

  did no t ye t mee t a n accepte d socia l ground . A t th e tur n o f th e

  century, th e racia l consciousnes s o f th e whit e audienc e wa s no t

  yet willin g t o le t itsel f b e questione d o r eve n change d b y a blac k

  cultural ambassador . I n th e word s of Chesnutt , spoke n i n 1928 :

  My books were written ... a generation too soon. There was no such demand

  then a s there i s now fo r book s by and about colore d people . And I was

  writing agains t th e tren d o f public opinion o n th e rac e questio n a t tha t

  particular time . And I had to sell my books chiefly to white readers. There

  were few colored book buyers.27

  Both case s demonstrat e th e extrem e difficultie s o f th e earl y blac k

  short stor y write r who , handicappe d b y th e preconceive d notion s

  of hi s white audience , had t o succum b t o their racist reading habits.

  Hence bot h writer s becam e victim s of th e socio-literar y exigencie s

  of thei r time ; Dunbar , b y lettin g himsel f b e confine d t o writin g

  basically plantation-stories , an d Chesnut t b y bein g force d int o

  silence, int o virtually givin g up writing . The examples of Chesnut t

  and Dunbar , lik e tha t o f th e novelis t Sutto n Griggs , serve as para-

  digms illustrating th e option s o f th e earl y blac k writer :

  1. The write r coul d tur n t o protes t fictio n wit h th e ris k o f havin g

  his work s distribute d onl y amon g his own peopl e i n th e manne r

  of Sutto n Griggs ;

  2. if h e di d no t wan t t o writ e "door-to-door-literature, " h e wa s

  forced t o sto p writin g o n accoun t o f hi s limite d receptio n lik e

  Chesnutt, o r

  3. he ha d t o vei l hi s protes t an d presen t happ y character s i n th e

  plantation-tradition, a s Dunbar did .

  II

  The emergenc e o f th e Harle m Renaissanc e togethe r wit h th e

  establishment of such black magazinesas The Crisis and Opportunity

  provided th e blac k shor t stor y write r wit h entirel y ne w prospect s

  6

  Although th e writer s o f th e 1920' s concentrate d primaril y o n

  poetry an d th e novel , a whol e grou p o f hithert o unknow n shor t

  fiction writer s appeared , amon g the m Jea n Toomer , Rudolp h

  Fischer, Claud e McKay , Eri c Walrond , an d Langsto n Hughes . Th e

  release o f thei r artisti c expressio n wa s decisively sponsore d b y th e

  short stor y writin g contest s organize d b y The Crisis and Opportu-

  nity i n th e 1920's , by th e growing interest o f a larger white reading

  public i n blac k culture , and , a s a consequence , b y th e willingnes s

  of severa l white publisher s to print black literature. Simultaneously ,

  the 1920' s sa w th e ris e o f a ne w feelin g o f ethni c identit y an d

  racial pride : blacknes s becam e th e centra l them e i n bot h fictio n

  and poetry .

  The incipienc e o f a ne w ethni c consciousnes s wa s echoe d i n al-

  most ever y statemen t b y blacks . Thu s fo r th e firs t time , the y

  publicly discusse d "Criteri a o f Negr o Art " an d expresse d thei r

  own cultura l claims . As DuBois demanded i n 1926 :

  We are bound by all sorts of customs that have come down as secondhand

  soul clothe s o f whit e patrons ... . I n all sorts of ways we are hemmed in

  and ou r new young artists have got to fight their way to freedom. .. . We

  must come to the place where the work of art when it appears is reviewed

  and acclaimed by our own free and unfettered judgment.28

  Similarly, Langsto n Hughe s i n hi s literar y manifest o "Th e Negr o

  Artist an d th e Racia l Mountain" (1926 ) proclaimed the new cultur-

  al independenc e o f th e blac k writer , callin g fo r a n ethnicall y self -

  assured position :

  To m y mind , i t i s the dut y o f th e younge r Negr o artist s .. . t o chang e

  through th e force o f their art that ol d whispering, ' I wan t to be white, '

  hidden in the aspirations of his people, to 'Wh y should I want to be white?

  I am a Negro and beautiful.' 29

  As thes e tw o representativ e sample s suggest , th e black shor t stor y

  writers o f th e Harle m Renaissanc e n o longe r intended t o succum b

  to th e stereotype d habit s o f th e whit e readin g public . Rather ,

  following th e stanc e take n b y Chestnutt , the y wante d "t o ac t a s

  truthful interpreter s o f th e blac k rac e fo r th e readin g public." 30

  To whic h public , however, wa s the write r t o addres s his attention ?

  Even thoug h ther e wer e fe w blac k magazines , whit e magazine s

  were obviousl y mor e attractive . A write r wh o envisione d himsel f

  as the cultura l ambassado r o f th e ne w race-feelin g logicall y catere d

  7

  to a white audience. On the other hand, the growing self-awarenes s

  needed t o b e sprea d amon g th e blacks . Th e resultin g intricacie s

  formed wha t Johnso n termed "th e dilemma of the Negro author."

  The solutio n h e propose d calle d fo r a combinatio n o f th e tw o

  groups: "whe n a Negro autho r doe s write s o as to fus e white and

  black Americ a into one intereste d an d approvin g audienc e h e has

  performed n o sligh t feat , an d ha s most likel y don e a sound piec e

  of literary work." 31

  Johnson's call, which clearly echoes the Whitmanesque ideal of the

  common bon d betwee n the artist and an ideal audience, 32 becam e

  the centra l concer n o f nearly all statements by black artists during

  the Harle m Renaissance . The idealized bond that these writer s as-

  pired t o wa s to b e realized in the shared experience of a new com-

  munity life, with Harlem becoming the "CultureCapital." This new

  enthusiasm did not reckon, however, with the extreme socio-literary

  difficulties o f finding just that audience, for, as Charles Scruggs has

  recently pointe d out , "as the decade progressed, it became increas-

  ingly evident, that something was missing: the black audience."33

  Jean Toome r an d hi s collection Cane (1923) ar e here the case in

  point whic h hel p t o illuminat e th e a t tha t tim e stil l Utopia n

  character o f Johnson' s ideas . A s th e firs t tru e blac k avant-gard e

  writer, th e firs t t o experiment with the genre, he was also the least

  successful i n commercia l terms . Th e light-skinne d Toomer , wh o

  more tha n onc e lamente d "th e opposition th e black artist faced in

  his own
community, " thu s became the isolated artist, resolving, as

  it were , his own ambiguou s existence by adopting the mask of the

  'American' artist , b y becomin g th e firs t classi c racial fugitive. 33a

  Hence th e growin g readership fo r Negr o matter di d no t extricat e

  the blac k shor t stor y write r fro m th e raciall y motivate d precon -

  ceptions o f hi s audience. Rather, th e growing demand fo r storie s

  in blac k magazine s exerte d a ne w limitin g convention , for , a s

  Sterling Brow n reported , th e ne w popula r taste , exemplifie d b y

  the parochialism o f the Opportunity-Crisis-story, called exclusively

  for the "lynching-passing-race-praising pattern." 34

  One important resul t o f th e fashionabl e interes t i n black culture

  was th e emergenc e o f "a n audienc e tha t woul d kno w enoug h

  about Negroe s not t o b e tol d everything." 35 Th e first shor t story

  writer t o b e abl e t o tak e advantag e o f thi s ne w potentia l wa s

  Langston Hughes , who wrote more than thirty o f his total of sixty-

  six shor t storie s betwee n 193 3 an d 1934 . Mor e importan t tha n

  8

  this impressiv e figure , however , wa s th e fac t tha t Hughe s wa s

  published b y suc h note d magazine s a s Scribner's, The American

  Mercury, an d Esquire, thu s gainin g a non-parochia l platfor m an d

  a primaril y whit e audience . Hi s firs t publishe d collection , The

  Ways of White Folk (1934) , contain s th e firs t genuin e satirica l

  short fictio n piece s b y a blac k write r whic h receive d favorabl e

  reviews an d sol d fairl y well. 36 Needin g n o longe r t o succum b t o

  the raciall y preconceive d notion s o f a whit e readin g public , h e

  became th e firs t blac k write r whos e statement s o f th e ne w ethni c

  pride an d self-assertio n wer e accepted .

  The fusio n o f raciall y divide d readershi p a s advocate d b y

  Johnson stil l prove d t o b e illusory , however . Yet , Hughe s was no t

  only th e firs t t o gai n a larg e whit e audience ; h e als o becam e th e

  first t o gai n a genuin e blac k audienc e outsid e th e popula r tast e o f

  the Crisis-Opportunity readers . Th e beginnin g o f th e publicatio n

  of hi s Simpl e tale s i n th e blac k weekl y Chicago Defender i n

  November, 1942 , marked , i n socio-literar y terms , a n importan t

  development o f blac k shor t fiction . Henc e th e printin g histor y o f

  his shor t fictio n demonstrate s tha t th e fusio n o f readership wa s all

  but unattainabl e a t tha t time . However, i n having "clarifie d fo r th e

  Negro audienc e thei r ow n strengt h an d dignit y an d i n havin g

  supplied th e whit e audienc e wit h a n exploratio n o f ho w th e Negr o

  feels an d wha t h e wants," 37 Hughe s se t a mode l o f ho w t o leav e

  behind th e ethni c provinc e an d th e literar y ghett o o f th e blac k

  short stor y writer .

  Ill

  In hi s well-know n essa y "Negr o Character s a s See n b y Whit e

  Authors" (1934) , Sterlin g Brow n insiste d tha t th e exploratio n o f

  Negro lif e an d characte r rathe r tha n it s exploitatio n mus t com e

  from Negr o author s themselves . Discussin g modes of presentation ,

  he raise d th e questio n "whethe r Negr o lif e an d characte r wer e t o

  be bes t interprete d fro m withou t o r within." 38 Wit h th e exceptio n

  of Toomer , blac k writer s so far ha d primaril y bee n concerne d wit h

  physical aspect s o f racia l condition s or , a s in th e cas e of Langsto n

  Hughes, wit h th e satirica l exposur e o f whites . A s lon g a s racia l

  injustice i n it s physica l manifestation s wa s conduciv e t o blac k

  writing, th e vie w fro m "without " wa s th e dominatin g literar y

  technique. Th e realisti c depictio n o f circumstanc e an d convention ,

  9

  however, bega n t o disappea r i n the late 1930's . In Brown's critical

  terminology, "listing " wa s replace d b y "rendering," 39 a s th e

  emphasis shifte d fro m th e externa l t o th e subjective , fro m th e

  depicting o f exterio r event s t o th e psychologica l exploratio n o f

  inner tensions . Th e shor t fictio n o f Richar d Wrigh t i s the cas e in

  point. Hi s exploration o f violenc e wa s no longe r a list o f discrim-

  inatory events , bu t rathe r th e thought s an d emotion s o f hi s

  characters wer e revealed in complex symbolic settings: the manner

  in whic h h e portrayed th e effect s o f racis m an d th e complexitie s

  of individual assertio n opene d u p a new realm of literary imagina-

  tion.

  The 1930' s sa w th e effort s o f th e Communis t part y t o unit e

  both the black and white writers under the objectives of proletarian

  realism an d within the organizational framework o f the John Ree d

  Club. Under th e influence o f his sponsors, Wright developed a new

  theoretical stanc e fo r blac k writer s whic h ha d clos e affiliation s

  with th e idea s of proletaria n realism . I n hi s "Blueprin t fo r Negr o

  Writing" (1937) , Wright deplore d "th e fact tha t Negro writing has

  been addresse d i n th e mai n t o a small whit e audienc e rathe r than

  to a Negro one " and calle d fo r "Negr o writers who seek to mould

  or influence th e consciousness of the Negro people." Consequently,

  the ai m o f blac k literatur e wa s no longer th e fusio n o f audienc e

  nor th e "pleadin g wit h whit e Americ a fo r justice"; instead, blac k

  literature wa s to b e purpose literature , was to b e educational and

  to concentrat e o n th e depictio n o f th e "whole culture" stemming

  from th e Negr o churc h an d th e folklor e o f th e Negr o people.40

  With th e exceptio n o f "Brigh t an d Mornin g Star " an d "Fir e an d

  Cloud," whic h wer e both include d i n th e 194 0 edition of the col-

  lection Uncle Tom's Children, Wright' s theoretica l statement s

  found n o fictional expressio n i n hi s shor t stories . Rather , a s his

  later wor k — and in particular "The Man Who Lived Underground"

  (1944) — demonstrate , the distinc t mar k o f hi s short fictio n wa s

  to becom e a highl y symboli c texture , writte n i n th e stream-of -

  consciousness manner . Thi s symbolisti c fictio n mad e i t possibl e

  to vie w th e blac k a s a n individua l wit h universa l existentia l

  problems.

  Although Wright' s symbolisti c shor t fictio n remaine d almos t

  unnoticed by critics for years, the collection Uncle Tom's Children

  was widely praised.41 Th e public reception of this volume illustrates

  in a significan t wa y th e discrepanc y betwee n a writer's intentio n

  10

  and hi s effect upo n th e readin g public. For in contrast t o Wright's

  ideas, th e collectio n faile d t o reac h a black audience . H e publicly

  confessed i n 1940 :

  When the reviews of that book began to appear, 1 realized that 1 had made

  an awfully naiv e mistake. I found that I had written a book which even

  banker's daughters could read and weep over and feel good about.

  The receptio n o f Uncle Tom's Children, despit e it s commercia l

  success, present s th e centra l dilemm a o f findin g a black audienc e

  outside magazin e publications . A s Sterling Brown
pointe d ou t i n

  1941: "th e likelihoo d o f a Negr o audienc e fo r book s b y Negr o

  authors i s not promising . Eve n thi s potentia l audienc e i s less than

  it migh t be . There is on the part of many a dislike for books about

  Negroes and book s b y Negroes." 43 Th e blac k shor t stor y writer' s

  failure t o fin d a blac k readin g publi c prove d t o hav e fata l con -

  sequences fo r th e developmen t o f thi s genre . Fo r th e immens e

  popular succes s of Native Son (1940 ) pushed, so it seems, the short

  story int o th e background . Th e publishe d shor t fiction o f Chester

  Himes and Ralph Ellison was thus to remain unnoticed for decades,

  and eve n Wright' s ow n stories were all but neglected by critics and

  anthologies - a fact whic h Saunder s Reddin g was to deplor e a s a

  "conspiracy o f silence."44

  The shor t fictio n o f Elliso n i s a cas e i n poin t whic h help s t o

  illuminate th e socio-literar y stat e o f blac k shor t fictio n i n th e

  1940's a s wel l a s th e stat e o f criticism . Neve r publishe d i n boo k

  form, hi s shor t storie s ar e stil l uncollecte d and , wit h fe w

  exceptions,45 receive d almos t n o critica l attention . I n "Blue -

  print fo r Negr o Writing, " Wrigh t ha d describe d th e blac k

  American's folklor e a s th e cultura l sourc e i n whic h "th e

  Negro achieve d hi s mos t indigenou s an d complet e expres -

  sion."46 I t wa s Elliso n who , i n suc h storie s a s "Afternoon "

  (1940), "Miste r Toussan " (1941), "That I Had the Wings" (1943),

  and "Flyin g Home " (1944) , attempte d "t o confor m t o th e pre-

  cepts lai d dow n b y Richar d Wright." 47 Ellison' s extensive us e of

  folklore i n a highl y symbolisti c manne r provide d a n importan t

  innovation fo r blac k literatur e an d laid a truely nationalist ground

  for blac k fiction . A s he pointed out , Negr o folklor e "announce d

  the Negro' s willingnes s t o trus t hi s ow n experience , hi s ow n

  sensibilities a s t o th e definitio n o f reality , rathe r tha n allo w his

  masters t o defin e thes e crucia l matter s fo r him." 48 I t i s indee d

  11

  characteristic fo r th e stat e o f criticis m tha t Ellison' s rol e a s th e

  historical fathe r o f blac k cultura l nationalis m wa s neve r acknow -